Spotswood’s Will Langlands in action against Albion last season. 66474 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
THE battle to be regarded as the best local footy team in the state is heating up with the confirmation of nine teams competing in the Betstar Champions Cup in March.
While last year’s inaugural pre-season cup was considered a success, the absence of several Division One premiership teams diluted the competition’s claim as the ultimate competition for bragging rights.
This year, the nine teams competing are the best in their respective leagues.
Perennial flag holders Spotswood will represent the Western Region Football League, while Essendon and Districts Football League champion Strathmore will compete.
The inclusion of Eastern Football League back-to-back premiers Noble Park is a boost for the competition. Noble Park declined the invitation last year, but are on board this year to test the widely held theory that the EFL is the strongest metropolitan football league in Melbourne.
The other reigning premiers contesting the cup are St Pauls (Southern Football League), Bell Park (Geelong Football League), Bundoora (Northern Football League), Shepparton United (Victorian Country Football League), Romsey (Riddell District Football League, and Cranbourne (Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League.
The nine teams will be divided into three groups of three, with the top teams from each group, plus one highest ranked second-paced team, to advance to the semi-finals.
The make-up of three groups will be based on a ranking system judged by the public. An invitation to vote for the strongest teams in the competition has been posted on the Big Footy forums of each competing league.
The votes will be tallied and the teams allocated accordingly.
Early voting suggests Noble Park and Shepparton United are considered the teams to beat, with a few votes coming in for Bell Park.
Drew Lowther from event management group Sports Support, which is running the event, said prizemoney is expected to reach $10,000, and sports radio station SEN will broadcast the event.
Lowther said he expected last year’s crowd of 5000 to be matched this year, and packages were still available for businesses to support the day. More details about the day will be available in the coming weeks.
